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GREEN BAY, Wisconsin – Don’t mistake Aaron Rodgers for someone who didn’t care after the Green Bay Packers bombed in their season opener loss to the New Orleans Saints.
But for those who thought this much – and Rodgers clearly heard those who did – he calmed them down after Monday night’s 35-17 win over the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field.
“I think maybe we tried to show that we care a little more tonight,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers wouldn’t say he was bothered by the comment, but admitted he was well aware of it.
“There is so much overreaction going on week after week,” Rodgers said. “So it’s good to go out, have a good performance and get rid of the trolls for at least a week.”
The Packers avoided their first 0-2 start since the 2006 season, two years before Rodgers even became their starting quarterback, and could have realistically envisioned a 0-3 start given they play against the 49ers. from San Francisco next Sunday night.
They did it by going back to what they did best last season: an Aaron Jones mix, albeit with a twist on Monday night, with Davante Adams and Robert Tonyan; and, of course, with a Rodgers on target to make it all work.
Jones has scored four times, but three of them have received touchdowns – the most by an NFL running back in six years. Rodgers eventually hooked up on a deep ball – a 50 yard yardstick – that set up Tonyan’s touchdown. The only thing missing was that Marquez Valdes-Scantling was going deep, and Rodgers lamented that he hadn’t hooked up with him more than once, saying, “It kills me that I missed him.”
Still, Rodgers managed to complete 22 of 27 passes (81.5%) for 255 yards and 4 touchdowns. It was his seventh career game with at least four touchdowns and an 80 percent completion rate. Only Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, with eight each, have more in NFL history.
“I think we’ve had a pretty good week of preparation,” said Packers coach Matt LaFleur. “I felt pretty good before our preparation against New Orleans and certainly when we went it didn’t look very good. So our guys, they’re resilient. They’ll keep fighting. a lot of the veterans, not only in attack but also in defense, and we have to keep improving every day and every week and we have to make sure we take it and review it one game at a time. Never get too high in this league because you will be humiliated very quickly and I think that happened to us a week ago. “
What Rodgers and LaFleur might like most is that they helped debunk the idea that there is a plan to stop their offense. The Saints shut them down, rarely blitzing and standing back. The Lions have tried the same thing.
They bombed (defined as sending five or more rushers) just five times on Monday, three more than the Saints.
Where Rodgers struggled against standard pressure last week – 13 of 26 for 126 yards with two interceptions – he thrived against her against the Lions with 19 of 22 passes completed for 245 yards and three touchdowns, according to ESPN Stats & Information Research .
“People like to say a lot of bulls —, and it’s nice to come back here after a game like this,” Rodgers said.
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